


Memories Fade (but these Chains are Forever)

by MayumiAmihan



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Drabble Collection, Drama, Gen, It's a twin thing, Loki and Natasha have twin children AU, Tony and Pepper can't have kids of their own so they adopt AU, Valentina might be crazy, Valentina's a chip off the old block, Valerian is a good bro, World Domination, i have no idea what I'm doing with this, prompt fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-04 09:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4132920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayumiAmihan/pseuds/MayumiAmihan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He thinks his sister's in need of a break -- she's been spending too much time staring at walls, clutching their papa's scepter in a death grip.</p><p>She's always been stubborn though, like their mama. He knows she won't listen to him, so he looks through some old photo albums instead.</p><p><strong>Disclaimer</strong>: I own nothing besides my original characters and my plot bunnies.</p><p>(These drabbles are based on prompts churned out by a random word generator, and are not posted in chronological order.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Burial

**Author's Note:**

> It's almost 2 AM and my eyes are burning, but the twins -- mostly Valya -- have been pushing against the inside of my eye lids, demanding to be fleshed out.
> 
> So here we are.
> 
> Just a quick note: "Valya" is Valentina's nickname of sorts. Valerian is her twin brother. Also, I do not yet have a beta, so please forgive any mistakes.

It is the day before the twins’ fifth birthday when the man with the peculiar eyes first materializes out of the darkness of Valya’s closet.

He gives them a silk pouch with a thin length of silver chain for a drawstring. He tells them that it is a gift, and that they must hide it or else other people will take it away from them. He makes them promise to never open the gift save for the most dire of circumstances, and to never tell a soul about its existence. He kisses them both on the head, then walks into Valya’s closet and disappears into the shadows without a trace.

They bury the pouch under the roots of the old oak tree in their backyard, and never speak of it again for years.


	2. Heat Sroke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little angst-y, but I did my best to tone it down.

Valerian’s friends have to drag him away so the emergency response workers can do their job.

_Six minutes._

A ridiculous idea pops into his head, that the sun is glaring oppressively at him, because he wasn’t there to protect his sister.

_Ten minutes._

He wants to tell whoever it is that’s crawled into his body to stop. The thumping in his chest is fast and hard and he can barely breathe from it. That’s nothing compared to the hammering against the inside of his skull though, which is not only loud but painful in a way that he’s never felt before.

_Eighteen minutes._

His vision is starting to swim. His friends ask him if he’s OK. He lies.

_Twenty-one minutes._

When they finally manage to pull Valya out of the wreckage, the knot in Valerian’s chest loosens and he can finally breathe again. The twisted remains of the car go up in flames soon after, and relief hits him like a ton of bricks as his knees give out from under him.

He blacks out before he even hits the pavement.


	3. Blaze

Valerian has always liked to play with fire, even though their mama has chastised him several times, saying that he’s going to end up hurt. He can’t stop himself though. It’s always been the danger that makes him reach for the matches.

Valya likes fire too, but not for its destructive power. She finds it beautiful and magical, and she only ever plays with Valerian to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.

One day when their mama is away on a mission, they take a box of matches from the kitchen to play with in their backyard. Valerian burns his pinky finger and Valya laughs at him. He burns a rose from the garden and the burning petals remind him of their mama’s hair.

A while later, their Aunt Maria comes with a man in a black trench coat. The man tells them their mama was trapped in a burning building while trying to save people. Apparently, she never made it out.

Valerian never plays with fire ever again.


	4. Flamboyant

She ignores the pain in her neck as she continues to stare at the ceiling, sketchbook and pencil clutched tightly in her hands. The ornate tracery and intricate designs fascinate Valya in a way that very few things can, and she would willingly spend the rest of their stay in France in the _Musée national du Moyen Âge_ if her Aunt Pepper would just let her.

One of the museum’s caretakers -- a man who looks to be in his late fifties, with thinning hair and a gentle face -- smiles at her, and jokingly bets his next paycheck that she’s going to end up taking architecture when she’s older. His eyes are unnervingly familiar to her, but she smiles at him nonetheless.

Two years later, a fifteen-year-old Valya is trying hard not to roll her eyes. Her Uncle Tony (she calls him “dad” in front of the press though, to keep up appearances) is going on about how his “kids” are both going to his alma mater, his pride thinly-veiled. She’s glad to see him and Aunt Pepper so happy. She was a little worried that they would be disappointed that she wanted to take architecture instead of engineering like her brother, but everything worked out alright. Valya’s lips twitch upward into a smile.

She still owes a Frenchman his paycheck.


	5. Granularity

It’s their first Christmas Eve since their mama died and they officially became Starks. Valerian is helping his Aunt Pepper and Aunt Jane bake cookies, and the sugar grains remind him of better days, when his sister and he used to help their mama in the kitchen.

He tells them of the day they burned the rose, and asks if their mama died because of him.

Aunt Pepper and Aunt Jane share a look, then spend the next hour explaining to him that their mama died a hero and that nothing was his fault, as well as a lot of other things that he doesn’t really remember.

Nonetheless, Valerian dreams of screaming women and burning buildings that night.


	6. Felon

Valya remembers the story their mama told them, about how their papa stole her heart and never gave it back. She remembers her mama promising them that she’ll introduce them to their papa when they’re older.

Now that mama is gone, Valya wonders if she’ll ever get to meet her papa at all.


	7. Pageant

Valerian is  technically  the one in charge, since he is the older sibling (he was born four minutes earlier, after all) but he isn’t the one with a bloodthirsty glimmer in his eyes, nor is he the one holding the scepter in his hand. No, he has always been the relaxed twin, more of a follower than a leader. All that  ‘conquering the universe’ crap has always been his sister’s thing. As long as Valya is the one actually calling the shots and doing the work, he couldn’t care less that he will one day become king.

He continues to watch as their army --  his  army, Valya insists, even though she’s the strategic genius who’s actually directing everything -- marches across the frigid ice, an endless sea of highly-trained, battle-ready Jötunns armed to the teeth, ready to conquer the universe. He is struck by how impressive the soldiers look with their frost-covered armor and deadly weaponry.

He tries not to think about how this parade of death will be invading other realms soon enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed my sleep-deprived ramblings. Feel free to comment! Constructive criticism is always appreciated.


End file.
